In recent times my opinions towards "kids" films has changed, it was only last year that I started to warm to the idea that they are slowly becoming better than most major motion pictures. Zootopia being a catalyst for this change in opinion and with that film winning Best Animated Feature at this year's oscars I will be reviewing that later on but this review is about Kubo. Kubo and the Two Strings should have won Best Animated Feature.
Its so refreshing to see a film where the content in the film is contained to the world and universe the film is based. We get no references to Twitter (Moana) or Iphones (Zootopia) the dialogue and content are all grounded in the context of the film. This is a major benefit for the film and allows it break away from other animated films.
This is one of the prettiest films of 2016 with its visual style and colour palette really complimenting the fantastical element of the film. This film also does boast creepy visuals and themes which again allows the film to be its own entity that lets the film stand the test of time. The setting of Japan provides an interesting backdrop to the film and really helps the proverb nature of the story and the film feels like a tale rather than a Hollywood screenplay, of course not all of the dialogue and story is perfect. There is a lot of redundant attempts at funny dialogue from Matthew McConaughey and the pacing of the film lets the quest feel less important than maybe it should be. Kubo seems to defy the odds very easily and I would have rather have seen more problem solving but its not a problem that breaks the film.
The sound and score in this film is very whimsical and like the art style really provides a Japanese feel which aids in creating a fantasy world. Kubo's music is especially pleasant and the visuals that accompany it are rather beautiful. This feels like an Enya music video in the best way possible, I really find the aesthetic of Kubo amazing in this current climate of poorly coloured and shot movies and having something that is vibrant and whimsical is a step in positive direction.
Overall Kubo is a good film, notice that I did not say kids film because I feel that this film is more than a kids film. With a "film" like Boss Baby coming out it really shows that there is a massive chasm between studio made kids films and artistic films that are for everyone. I recommend this film to everyone, it may not be the best film of 2016, hell its not even the best film of this art style but it was a lovely film that is not too taxing to watch and does have some dark elements which compliment the more pleasant aspects of the film.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Wednesday 22 March 2017
Monday 20 March 2017
Warner Bros HD DVD Problems
This is just a quick post just informing everyone who owns HD DVD's that it is rather common for Warner Bros discs to not work or start freezing. Out of 50 Warner Bros discs around 7 have started to have this problem. A way of testing this issue is to test the disc by trying every chapter on the disc, if the process freezes or distortion in the picture then you can identify that there is a problem. It could be as simple as a scratch which, in some cases, could be fixed but some discs that are healthier than others on the surface may have more significant damage. For example Training Day did not work when i attempted to watch the film but after some light cleaning it works fine. The Matrix on the other hand was working perfectly up until 1 hour and 37 minutes and refuses to work properly at the time of this post.
So my goal is to attempt to deep clean the discs I have in order to get them working again but I thought it would be a good idea to use my platform to warn owners of HD DVD of this problem and it is mainly Warner Bros discs that I have found this problem. From online reading it appears that the biggest problem with Warner Bros HD DVD's is disc rot, this is what I fear is happening so I implore all HD DVD owners to test their Warner discs to see if they suffer from this problem and start to look to upgrading them to blu ray.
Written By Ashley Harvey
So my goal is to attempt to deep clean the discs I have in order to get them working again but I thought it would be a good idea to use my platform to warn owners of HD DVD of this problem and it is mainly Warner Bros discs that I have found this problem. From online reading it appears that the biggest problem with Warner Bros HD DVD's is disc rot, this is what I fear is happening so I implore all HD DVD owners to test their Warner discs to see if they suffer from this problem and start to look to upgrading them to blu ray.
Written By Ashley Harvey
Friday 17 March 2017
Cafe Society - Review
Im not sure if I could class this as a hidden gem but the fact that this film is not talked about that much could make it one. The reason why I am not classing it as a hidden gem is due to how recently the film was released so I just class it as a review. That being said Cafe Society is one of the best films of last year.
This is the third Woody Allen film I have seen and it could be the gateway for me and many people into the world of Woody Allen. This film is a perfect example of having references in a film without making it seem as a way of showing off and the setting of the film allows for the content to come across as genuine. This film can be compared to La La Land and I think that Cafe Society is the superior film in both film-making and story aspects, taking the idea of golden age Hollywood and making a warm, light hearted film centred around that is a great idea and Cafe Society does it well.
Jesse Eisenberg is excellent in this film and really channels classic Woody Allen archetypes which is amazing to watch. Kristen Stewart and Steve Carrell are also great in this film and everyone plays off each other very well, with the supporting cast also bringing a high level of quality to it. One of my favourite aspects of this film are the characters themselves and the stories that all characters have to share with us.
The story itself is decent enough but is certainly a framework to hang these characters on which works really well. All the sub plots work well and never feel like we are meandering which is great writing and really serves the film well, its hard to talk about the film in detail because it just needs to be watched for the best experience. The cinematography in Cafe Society is beautiful and one of the best looking films from the past year, rich colour and perfectly composed shots really compliment the great screenplay and characters.
Overall Cafe Society is one of the best films of 2016 and should be watched especially if you did not like La La Land. This film is delightful and is great watch, its 96 minutes so its also a very easy watch. Please do check this one out.
9/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Wednesday 15 March 2017
Kong: Skull Island - Review
I would like to start this review off by saying that the only reason I sat through the entire film was to ensure that this blog remains as professional as possible. Now with that said Kong: Skull Island is the worst film of 2017 by far. With most films I can find a few positives among the large amount of negatives but Kong had nothing I enjoyed.
Lets start off by saying that this film is annoying from a film making point of view, this film brings nothing new to the table, not every film needs to be original but a film should have a sense of identity and this film feels like someone tried to make Apocalypse Now and failed so badly. Setting this film in the 70's was a big mistake because it distracts from the film and really hammers home the fact that they wanted to make Apocalypse Now without understanding what Apocalypse Now is.
More and more contemporary films have the same problems with characters, Kong has too many characters without setting them up properly and most are redundant to the story. Some characters are fully set up then killed off without any impact and it makes you wonder why we spent so much time setting these characters up. The only character that was bearable was Tom Hiddleston but even he had barely anything to do until the last 40 mins of the film. I felt as if he should have been the main character and had him as the Martin Sheen character if we need to parallel Apocalypse Now . John Goodman and Samuel L Jackson felt misused and underdeveloped until the story requires them to do something and one other actor who I shall not name for spoilers is a carbon copy of Dennis Hopper from Apocalypse Now.
Lets talk about King Kong himself and how he is misused in this film, the first problem is his reveal there is no true reveal shot he is just kind of there and it ruins the point of having this monster creature in your film, the film lacks creativity and just throws monsters out there without setup or pay off. Rather than the monsters and Kong being a threat they came across as an inconvenience to the characters. Every monster encounter plays out the same way and it becomes frustrating to the point where the action no longer has impact.
The soundtrack is annoying its almost as if Warner spent too much money on the rights to the Suicide Squad soundtrack that they had to lump anything from the 70's into this film for "world building" when it just comes across as a way to seem hip and cool. If King Kong (2005) was the romantics King Kong then this is the hipster King Kong. The actual score to the film is also forgettable not one track stands out apposed to the Peter Jackson film where the main theme is rather memorable.
Overall I would not recommend seeing this film at all, if you want a good monster film re-watch Pacific Rim if you want a good King Kong film watch the Peter Jackson version and if you want a good Vietnam film watch any other Vietnam film. This film is devoid of any personality other than what is artificially created to come across as "deep" or "cool". Too many characters clutter this forgettable slog of a feature. Avoid this film as if it were Skull Island itself.
4/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Lets start off by saying that this film is annoying from a film making point of view, this film brings nothing new to the table, not every film needs to be original but a film should have a sense of identity and this film feels like someone tried to make Apocalypse Now and failed so badly. Setting this film in the 70's was a big mistake because it distracts from the film and really hammers home the fact that they wanted to make Apocalypse Now without understanding what Apocalypse Now is.
More and more contemporary films have the same problems with characters, Kong has too many characters without setting them up properly and most are redundant to the story. Some characters are fully set up then killed off without any impact and it makes you wonder why we spent so much time setting these characters up. The only character that was bearable was Tom Hiddleston but even he had barely anything to do until the last 40 mins of the film. I felt as if he should have been the main character and had him as the Martin Sheen character if we need to parallel Apocalypse Now . John Goodman and Samuel L Jackson felt misused and underdeveloped until the story requires them to do something and one other actor who I shall not name for spoilers is a carbon copy of Dennis Hopper from Apocalypse Now.
Lets talk about King Kong himself and how he is misused in this film, the first problem is his reveal there is no true reveal shot he is just kind of there and it ruins the point of having this monster creature in your film, the film lacks creativity and just throws monsters out there without setup or pay off. Rather than the monsters and Kong being a threat they came across as an inconvenience to the characters. Every monster encounter plays out the same way and it becomes frustrating to the point where the action no longer has impact.
The soundtrack is annoying its almost as if Warner spent too much money on the rights to the Suicide Squad soundtrack that they had to lump anything from the 70's into this film for "world building" when it just comes across as a way to seem hip and cool. If King Kong (2005) was the romantics King Kong then this is the hipster King Kong. The actual score to the film is also forgettable not one track stands out apposed to the Peter Jackson film where the main theme is rather memorable.
Overall I would not recommend seeing this film at all, if you want a good monster film re-watch Pacific Rim if you want a good King Kong film watch the Peter Jackson version and if you want a good Vietnam film watch any other Vietnam film. This film is devoid of any personality other than what is artificially created to come across as "deep" or "cool". Too many characters clutter this forgettable slog of a feature. Avoid this film as if it were Skull Island itself.
4/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Friday 10 March 2017
I Am Sam - Hidden Gem
I Am Sam is a rare case where its a film purely driven by a performance and a decent story and everything else fails on a film making level yet I still enjoyed it. This film seems to have got lost in the shuffle, no one really talks about it and when I Am Sam is mentioned it is usually because of the stellar performance by Sean Penn. It also does not help that around the same time A Beautiful Mind was released and dominated the box office and won Best Picture. So is I Am Sam a good film on its own?
I Am Sam is a very good film and one that is very easy to get lost in, Sean Penn puts in an astounding performance as Sam Dawson and at times you forget that Penn is acting which could be seen as a negative but I found it fascinating. Its a shame that the film making on display is awful, I understand that it can be seen as a reflection of Sam's state of mind but at points it does become distracting with the camera constantly zooming in and out.
This is truly a film that is about performances and other than Penn, Dakota Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer also put in top quality performances although none of them can touch that of Penn's. Every character feels real and all the characters are well written which is fundamental to a film with this subject matter. Its hard to really talk about the story without ruining it and with the hidden gem reviews I want new viewers to go in fully blind to enjoy this film.
I Am Sam is a film that over time will start to grow on people but as of now it seems to have got lost amidst other performance driven films of that era and especially A Beautiful Mind. I am usually against films that have poor cinematography but this is a rare example of where the story, characters and performances all work together to make a really special film that needs to be recognised more. Do check this one out, its a really decent film that is not remembered as well as it probably should be.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
I Am Sam is a very good film and one that is very easy to get lost in, Sean Penn puts in an astounding performance as Sam Dawson and at times you forget that Penn is acting which could be seen as a negative but I found it fascinating. Its a shame that the film making on display is awful, I understand that it can be seen as a reflection of Sam's state of mind but at points it does become distracting with the camera constantly zooming in and out.
This is truly a film that is about performances and other than Penn, Dakota Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer also put in top quality performances although none of them can touch that of Penn's. Every character feels real and all the characters are well written which is fundamental to a film with this subject matter. Its hard to really talk about the story without ruining it and with the hidden gem reviews I want new viewers to go in fully blind to enjoy this film.
I Am Sam is a film that over time will start to grow on people but as of now it seems to have got lost amidst other performance driven films of that era and especially A Beautiful Mind. I am usually against films that have poor cinematography but this is a rare example of where the story, characters and performances all work together to make a really special film that needs to be recognised more. Do check this one out, its a really decent film that is not remembered as well as it probably should be.
8/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
Friday 3 March 2017
Logan - Review
The first five minutes of Logan gave me hope for the film, its a shame that the rest of the film is a boring mess that has no clear focus or story. I made a post about my thoughts on the trailer of Logan and how it felt small and a little off, it turns out that i was right.
I would like to start off with what I actually liked. The first couple of minutes of the film were very good, it set a good tone for the film but its a shame that it doesn't continue that way. That is where the majority of my praise stops. The rest of the film is just dull and uninteresting with a weak plot and character motivation.
I don't like to swear on these posts and i will try my best not to but as soon as the F word was uttered I knew what this film was. This film was designed to appeal to teenagers and the comic book fans which is not a bad thing but the way in which Logan attempts to be violent and edgy comes across as what a teenager would write and make. It has been a long time since i have watched a movie in cinema with as much swearing as this, I am not against swearing, violence and nudity when it is done well but when it is shoved in the film without context or class it comes across as juvenile.
The violence in this film is nice to see in a major blockbuster but the way in which it is done leaves much to be desired, if only director James Mangold framed the action well maybe this film would not be as dull as it is but instead we get these shaky-cam action scenes where its hard to know the geography of the action.
Having the film set in 2028 was strange to me, I know that we needed it to be sometime in the future but 2028 seems a little far fetched. I did like the idea of Patrick Stewart as Professor X slowly loosing his mind and that being a danger but a lot of what his character does within the film does not coincide with this idea. The script is very lazy it relies heavily on "humour" and swearing which takes away from when the film is trying to be serious. Logan could have been a very solid movie if it had grounded itself completely. Strip the humour and just make a down to earth Wolverine film and like I said the elements were there I just feel that the material was handled poorly.
I did like the majority of the X-23 parts, up until she started talking. She is introduced very well and the majority of the performance is good. Her action scenes are solid and she emotes well with just her face. When she starts talking is when she and the film goes way downhill. The main "plot" is to get X-23 to Eden where other mutants are living. Turns out these other mutants are children like X-23 and thats when we get the problem with making X-Men films, the on screen powers of the mutants look awful and lame.
There is also a fight between two Hugh Jackmen in which one of them has been de-aged.
Overall Logan could have been a really good down to earth action film with Wolverine just kicking a lot of butt but instead we get a slog of a film where the action is poorly shot and meaningless, a bad guy we have no connection to and dialogue that a 12 year old wrote. I can't recommend this film to people that can easily spot bad writing and plot problems but honestly it is not as bad as most films from last year and is certainly not as bad as X-men Apocalypse. If you want a good Wolverine film watch The Wolverine.
6/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
I would like to start off with what I actually liked. The first couple of minutes of the film were very good, it set a good tone for the film but its a shame that it doesn't continue that way. That is where the majority of my praise stops. The rest of the film is just dull and uninteresting with a weak plot and character motivation.
I don't like to swear on these posts and i will try my best not to but as soon as the F word was uttered I knew what this film was. This film was designed to appeal to teenagers and the comic book fans which is not a bad thing but the way in which Logan attempts to be violent and edgy comes across as what a teenager would write and make. It has been a long time since i have watched a movie in cinema with as much swearing as this, I am not against swearing, violence and nudity when it is done well but when it is shoved in the film without context or class it comes across as juvenile.
The violence in this film is nice to see in a major blockbuster but the way in which it is done leaves much to be desired, if only director James Mangold framed the action well maybe this film would not be as dull as it is but instead we get these shaky-cam action scenes where its hard to know the geography of the action.
Having the film set in 2028 was strange to me, I know that we needed it to be sometime in the future but 2028 seems a little far fetched. I did like the idea of Patrick Stewart as Professor X slowly loosing his mind and that being a danger but a lot of what his character does within the film does not coincide with this idea. The script is very lazy it relies heavily on "humour" and swearing which takes away from when the film is trying to be serious. Logan could have been a very solid movie if it had grounded itself completely. Strip the humour and just make a down to earth Wolverine film and like I said the elements were there I just feel that the material was handled poorly.
I did like the majority of the X-23 parts, up until she started talking. She is introduced very well and the majority of the performance is good. Her action scenes are solid and she emotes well with just her face. When she starts talking is when she and the film goes way downhill. The main "plot" is to get X-23 to Eden where other mutants are living. Turns out these other mutants are children like X-23 and thats when we get the problem with making X-Men films, the on screen powers of the mutants look awful and lame.
There is also a fight between two Hugh Jackmen in which one of them has been de-aged.
Overall Logan could have been a really good down to earth action film with Wolverine just kicking a lot of butt but instead we get a slog of a film where the action is poorly shot and meaningless, a bad guy we have no connection to and dialogue that a 12 year old wrote. I can't recommend this film to people that can easily spot bad writing and plot problems but honestly it is not as bad as most films from last year and is certainly not as bad as X-men Apocalypse. If you want a good Wolverine film watch The Wolverine.
6/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
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